Frank discussion re our loss to Obama/Romney and the future direction of FR and tea party movement

Click here to pledge your support! ^ | May 4, 2012 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

My FRiends, we might as well face the reality that we the combined pro-life conservative movement and tea party coalition have lost this round (the presidential election) in the larger battle to reclaim our constitution and our inalienable rights. Rove, Romney and the GOP-e have successfully destroyed and driven off each and every pro-life conservative tea party candidate from the race and all have surrendered to the Romney camp. It is no secret that Romney is not one of us. There is absolutely no doubt that he has never accomplished a single conservative thing in his entire political career (one term as liberal governor of liberal Massachusetts and six years campaigning for president). In Massachusetts, he undeniably championed abortion, gay rights, global warming, gun control, big government statist mandated/socialized health care programs, liberal judges, TARP, bailouts, stimulus spending, debt limit increases, etc, and even though he's recently claimed a complete reversal in political beliefs and no longer despises pro-life conservatives or the time of Reagan-Bush, I still don't trust him. He still stubbornly holds on to some of his statist beliefs, like global warming, gays in the military, RomneyCare, stimulus spending, etc, so there is no way I can vote for him or join Cain, Perry, Bachmann, Newt or any others who are endorsing him. But I will not act on my prior promises that I would actively campaign against him if he wins the nomination. Our combined movement is already torn and splintered and is going to have to be mended if we're going to have any impact whatsoever against the liberal/progressives and statists after the election. To that end I propose a TRUCE among our conservative forces during the remainder of this election cycle.

We conservatives have already lost the presidency to either the Dems or the GOP-e, and if we tear the tea party apart, if we tear the pro-life movement apart, if we tear FR apart then we lose it all. It's far more important that we re-unite and live to fight another day. Even if we can't vote for a true conservative for the presidency, it's doubly important that we all turn out on election day or sooner and drag our friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, etc, to the polls to vote straight conservative for every slot on our ballots. The only way we can win our freedom back is to vote out the liberal progressives and vote in as many liberty loving conservatives as is humanly possible into every elected office at every level of government all across this great land. To prevent a total loss to the dems or GOP-e, we must continue the tea party rebellion into November and beyond. Whatever else you may do, you must turn out and vote straight tea party conservative down ticket!!

We must continue expanding our inroads into the state houses and into every elective office in the land. We must continue building on our majority in the house and we must retake the senate!! We must help the conservative governors and state legislatures to fully restore the ninth and tenth amendments and reclaim the real political power away from the federal usurpers and return it to the states and the people per the constitution!! This way, regardless of who wins the presidency, we can cut his unconstitutional expansionist movements off at the knees. And if any executive, civil officer or judge dares commit impeachable offenses, we must hold the majorities so we can impeach and remove them from office!!

And we must salvage and rebuild and continue strengthening our conservative pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, pro-borders, pro-constitution, pro-small government, pro-defense, pro-liberty movements and our tea party coalition. And we must stop ripping each other apart!!

Therefore I hereby propose a general truce among our conservative forces!!

The Republic we save may be our own!!

As far as FR's finances go, we're in the same boat as the rest of the economy and will have to make do with what we can raise. Fortunately, the big debts we ran up a couple years ago have been paid off. We borrowed approx $20,000 a few years ago from two FReepers to fund our national convention, plus we ran up another $20,000 in legal fees during the last couple of years fighting off Righthaven. But those are now behind us and paid off. We also did quite a bit of traveling each year for the last three years on cross country tea party tours, but I think we can now cut that back and remove it from our budget requirements. If we're fortunate enough to not incur any additional legal costs or equipment costs (other than what we've already planned), and cut the travel and a few other areas, we should be able to tighten our belts enough to weather the storm even if we fail to reach our short term fundraising goals.

Whatever the outcome of the elections, we are prepared to roar into 2013 with the tea party chewing up liberal/progressives and RINOs and raising hell in our never ending fight for liberty!!

We are the resistance!!

Let's take the enemy head-on instead of fighting each other!!

Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!!

[TigersEye]

You can drink twice as much beer with a nice onion and anchovy pizza too. :-)

I think it's time for lunch.

[ricmc2175]

Well said sir. I became a monthly this time around and will try to do more.

[MSSC6644]

PC, I truly appreciate the time and effort taken to write this post. I've read it, but haven't had time to digest and consider it all. I will do that. (Not sure when, but soon.)

I want you to know that the list of Ron Paul positions I posted came verbatim from his web site. They did not deal in specifics, and I believe that your answers are so definitive, that one would have to read all that Dr. Paul has said or written on the various topics in order to respond completely.

Since one of my purposes in bringing up his name was to respond to Jim's initial post, I'm sure taking the time to do all the research needed for a fair answer to your post is beyond my current brain power. So. . .

I'll take it that you don't want to support Ron Paul as opposed to supporting Romney. And I'll consider all your reasons during the next few days. Thanks for your consideration and for all the work you've done here.

[caww]

“Lesser’ of Two Evils Fails”

These “lesser of two evils” arguments fail for at least two important reasons:

First, as an individual voter you have almost no chance of casting the deciding vote in an election.

Second, your vote is a powerful expression of your political will.

Your vote sends a clear signal to present and future office-holders about ‘what you value’ in a candidate:

- principled decision-making or political pragmatism

- consistency or compromise

- moral/ethical behavior or personal charm

It also shows what ‘principles’ are important to you as a voter:

- peace or military adventurism

- liberty or social controls

- property rights or coerced charity

- human equality or socialism

- free markets or government regulation

When you vote for the lesser of two evils ... you send a very weak message to future office holders:

...”that you are a loyal party member”.....

The respectable man, so called,..... has immediately drifted from his position, and despairs of his country, when his country has more reasons to despair of him..... He forthwith adopts one of the candidates...Thus Proving That He Is Himself Available For Any Purposes Of The Demagogue.......

(Thoreau’s .....“Civil Disobedience”)

[dirtboy]

left-leaning moderates

regular moderates

Democrats

Socialist/Democrats

Marxist/Democrats

Marxists

Socialists

Anarchists

moderate Democrats...

and

complete morons

You repeat yourself.

Being a Republican president is the hardest job in the World.

Oh, I agree it's not easy. But IMO the uneasy truce between the Rockefeller and Goldwater wings of the party has been trashed over the last two elections - by the GOP-E - after they trashed the GOP brand the last decade with their excesses. And for every critique of the GOP-E that has some merit (such as the problems we saw with O'Donnell in Delaware), you also have competely insane delusions such as the claim that Palin was detrimental towards McCain in 2008 - to the contrary, she was the one decision that gave him a shot to win.

As you said, it's hard to be a Republican. But it's even harder when you spit on the base and then turn around and demand they follow your unpopular squish of a candidate into the breach.

[Kevmo]

Most Pizza Hut’s have anchovies if you ask for them.
***Yes, even further away from the original notion of a fish restaurant.

[Servant of the Cross]

You can drink twice as much beer with a nice onion and anchovy pizza too. :-)

Just beware of the Viking Kitties - they love pizza too ... and will do anything to have it ...

[MaxFlint]

I'm not willing to make presumptions or call a game in the 3rd quarter. Romney still doesn't have enough uncontested delegates to wrap up the nomination.

Gingrich and Santorum have suspended their campaigns. It was probably a done deal when Santorum suspended. He was the only conservative who had any success in beating Romney.

It's over. Now it's a choice between Obama, Romney and whatever small party candidates get on the presidential ballot in your state.

As for write in votes, they're almost never reported on, and in some elections I've seen them classified as "other" with no public record of who the protest votes went to. If you do a write in you really are throwing away your vote.

Not trying to be a downer here, but we have to be realists about our options.

[Earthdweller]

Let me explain...”We” does not include the later.

[EnglishCon]

Oh dear! Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten which end to diaper? lol

---

Oh Lord, I wish I forgot which end!!!

It is always the end aimed at you!!!!!!

[Servant of the Cross]

You need EVERY vote to do anything and to break off into little factions is political suicide.

But ... breaking off into little factions is SO much fun ...

[DJ MacWoW]

Actually both ends are capable of unwanted gifts. But the smiles and gurgles are worth it. :-)

[Tau Food]

Deb, what you say about Russia was true once upon a time. Today, United Russia is the party in charge. The Communist Party is now a minority party.

I think it’s time that RINO’s get defeated at all levels.

[humblegunner]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2879805/posts?page=727#727

Oh, heck! That was a dark day in FReeper history.

Some poor fool tried to order pizza for the Mods and numerous drivers got whacked trying to deliver.

Thumbs up to the security at the FR Mod compound, but just damn...

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Exactly!....The Republican Party did not want anything to do with Reagan but the people elected him! We will win over them all, damn it! I’m going to fight harder than ever! To hell with the whack left Democratic Party AND the idiots running the Republican Party. We will bury the Rino Republican Party by electing local conservatives first that will overwelm their sorry asses and take the Republican Party control away from their weak hands! Screw ‘em all! Tea Party or nothing!

[JRandomFreeper]

Just trying be be realistic here, but Texas (along with other states) hasn't voted in the primary, and I expect Gingrich will be on the ballot for the primary.

It ain't over until the fat lady sings. Romney does NOT have enough undisputed delegates to lock up the nomination.

I pray daily for a protracted and bloody floor fight at the convention.

/johnny

[onyx]

Geeez. Now that you have pinged, Jim, here's the post of yours that started your beef with Kevmo. #627 - about Palin, of course.

FWIW, I've seen posts of Jim's stating that he might write-in Sarah Palin, too, so I reckon there's a lot of us "stupid's".

I'm going to first check with my County recorder to verify that my ballot will be counted, recorded and published, when I write-in Sarah Lousie Palin, in November, 2012.

[NathanR]

If you vote for Sarah as a write in you risk voiding your whole ballot. Just leave it blank.

[TigersEye]

They probably especially like anchovy pizza. That’s OK! I always order the extra large even if I think I’m going to dine alone. You never know who will sail in at the last minute! ;^)

[JRandomFreeper]

At least you aren't in uniform anymore. My 2 girls both had dress blues detectors, and would barf on me 5-10 minutes before any mandatory formation.

/johnny